Home of Metal hit West Brom last weekend – which included a number of large scale vinyls of fans portraits taken by photographer Steve Gerrard.

Image taken from http://dachshundlove.blogspot.com/

RIP Elizabeth Taylor, the actor best known for her roles in Cleopatra, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf and National Velvet died of heart failure aged 79

…another excellent event coming up at Flatpack Festival. This Thursday 25th March at IKON Eastside, Flatpack will be screening ‘We Don’t Care About Music Anyway’, a portrait of the Japanese experimental music scene with a performance from Sakamoto Hiromichi, an intriguing cellist who also uses voice, musical saw and an array of instruments to craft beautiful, and always surprising, pieces. I’m personally hugely excited, having discovered him through his collaborations with sound artist Haco.

Tickets are available here, and there will also be opportunities to donate to the Red Cross at the event in the wake of recent events in Japan.

Don’t forget on Saturday 26th March Home of Metal will be screening ‘In Bed with Chris Needham’ at IKON Eastside, tickets for that event are available here

ARBOURETUM
Arbouretum first began in late 2002 as a vehicle for singer/guitarist David Heumann’s songwriting. The sweeping, atmospheric textures of the first record soon gave way to a more visceral, elemental approach.  Amplifiers were turned up, drums were hit harder, and songs crescendoed into spiraling, noise-soaked climaxes on the second full-length, Rites of Uncovering.  Released on Thrill Jockey in early 2007, the record garnered much attention and critical acclaim.  XLR8R called it “the best doom-folk record of all time” and Uncut referred to it as an instant “cult classic”.

Arboretum’s 4th Album,’The Gathering’ was inspired by Carl Jung’s ‘The Red Book’, with the central metaphor of the song ‘The White Bird’ referring directly to the work. The album’s theme is one of loosing one’s way and finding it again, detailed by ellaborate allegorical imagery. Heumann’s lyrics take you on an adventure through conflict, redemption and revelation.

The Examiner stated that, ‘The attention to detail in recording and in writing, in concert with the performance, result in the other-worldly experience of The Gathering.’

http://www.myspace.com/arbouretum

HEALTH AND EFFICIENCY
The Band say of themselves: ‘Twelve feet strong with a head for dizzying heights, Health & Efficiency were raised by wolves in a forest. Leaving the pack and relocating to their practice space in historic Deritend, they experiment with sounds and music, surrounded by priceless works of contemporary art.’

Their music traverses an encyclopaedia of influences; psych, folk, no wave noise and electronic perhaps being some of the more predominant. They utilise banjo, two basses, two guitars, synths, samplers and more effects and loop pedals than it’s reasonable for one band to need.

Uniquely tuned guitars howl, chiming harmonics sing, drones and loops are punctuated by distant chanting and crisp syncopated drumbeats. Sometimes loud, sometimes quiet, always Health & Efficiency.

Free music download : http://music.healthandefficiency.net/

http://healthandefficiency.net/

TIGERNAUT
Tigernaut make instrumental rock music that combines delicate guitar melodies with serious riffs. Folk elements vie with math and jazz time signature changes and inviting soundscapes to make music that always drives forwards, but often hides pleasant surprises.
Spending years practicing in garages and bedrooms (in their words, ‘gathering momentum like New Labour circa 1994’), unable to afford the latest musical technology advertised in Guitar Monthly, Tigernaut were forced to fall back on music carefully written to engage the listener. They now have two delay pedals between them, but the habit has stuck.

http://www.myspace.com/tigernaut

http://tigernaut.wordpress.com/about/

To guarantee yourself a ticket, head to http://www.tickesellers.co.uk

OR pop down to either:
Swordfish – Temple Street, Birmingham
or
Polar Bear – York Road, Kings Heath

Doors will be at 8pm and we can’t wait to see you there!!

SEEFEEL
Before the electro-infused indie and post-rock of today, there was Seefeel. They provided a bridge between the electronic nouveau and indie-rock; being ultimately instrumental in opening up the parallel reality of electronic music to the more adventurous members of the indie scene.
They released their first EPs and first album on the British independent label Too Pure in 1993. Seefeel’s music was stylistically situated at the intersection of dream pop/shoegaze and ambient techno/IDM. The band signed with electronic label Warp Records in 1994, after which point Seefeel’s music became much darker and more abstract.
In 2008 Mark Clifford and Sarah Peacock relaunched Seefeel and were joined by Shigeru Ishihara (DJ Scotch Egg) and former Boredoms drummer Iida Kazuhisa (E-Da) who fill in the bass and percussive sections respectively.
Following the success of their comeback EP  Faults, Seefeel are proud to announce the true fruits of their recent labours. Seefeel, the band’s new LP and first full length since 1996’s (Ch-Vox).

http://www.myspace.com/seefeelmyspace

DEAD FADER
Rollin’, batterin’, FUBAR-steppin’, maxed-out, funky-ass bastards. That’s who Dead Fader are. Their hybrid of distorto-death grooves, limited-to-hell wonky-not-wonky productions, sound like Distance playing though Slayer’s back line.. On first impression it’s hardly a production sound you’d associate with the backdrop of Dead Fader’s home base, Brighton. This sounds more like it was born out of some grim industrial slum on lockdown, all pent up anger and a serious need to party hard; 2-step garage from a Hair Police state.
‘It’s playful but sick. Like a puppy with extremely sharp teeth’ -  Justin K Broadrick
http://www.myspace.com/deadfader

EPIC 45
Epic45’s acclaimed 2007 album May Your Heart Be The Map was a vivid exploration of the British countryside, tinted by childhood memories and the metamorphosis of the seasons, influenced by dramatic post-rock structures and warm acoustic folk. Last year’s mini album In All The Empty Houses explore the resonances of abandoned buildings; the ghosts of past lives and memories that inhabit them as they fall into dilapidation.

“Tracing emotional reactions to shifting seasons, May Your Heart Be the Map did something new with old materials and gave the Black Country its very own Boards of Canada.” – Word Magazine, Best of the Noughties

http://www.epic45.com/

To guarantee yourself a ticket, head to http://www.tickesellers.co.uk

OR pop down to either:
Swordfish – Temple Street, Birmingham
or
Polar Bear – York Road, Kings Heath

Doors will be at 8pm and we can’t wait to see you there!!

…than with Home of Metal?

If you’re around the Black Country, you may have seen Home of Metal splashed all over your buses, metro stations and more, all promoting our Heavy Metal dedicated day on Saturday 26th March.

We’re starting off at The Public, West Brom where we’re inviting Heavy Metal fans to bring along their memorabilia to add to our digital archive, anything from t-shirts, ticket stubs, fanzines and records are all invaluable to the project!

Johnny Doom will be hosting the event, interviewing cult metal hero Krusher (former ‘Raw Power’ presenter and Kerrang! art director) who will be talking about some of the Black Sabbath and Monsters of Rock artwork he has created.

Steve Gerrard will be giving a masterlass in music photography, showing you how to get the perfect live shot. Please note that this class is now full.

Steve has been an accredited photographer for bands such as Radiohead, Metallica, Kiss, Muse, Nine Inch Nails, Iron Maiden, The Sex Pistols, Bon Jovi and Melvins. As part of the Home of Metal open day he will be giving one lucky unsigned band a free photoshoot!

We’ll also be screening the first and only Led Zeppelin feature film  ‘Song Remains the Same’ – along with (sometimes bizarre) dream sequences the film sees the band storm through ‘Stairway to Heaven’, ‘Black Dog’, ‘Heartbreaker’ and the rest, to thunderous effect.

Birmingham based artists Juneau Projects will be in attendance on the day to help you create your very own  electronic cardboard instrument. Use cardboard to build your own Telecaster or Flying V, drumkit, keyboard or invent your own instrument. Then add some simple electronics to trigger sound samples, take to the stage, dress up and play!

It’ll be a great day, and it’s all FREE – Home of Metal Open Day, The Public, 11am-4pm

And that’s not all as in the evening we’re hooking up with Flatpack Festival and The Quietus to bring you a very exciting screening of ‘In Bed with Chris Needham’ at IKON Eastside

“The plot: Chris Needham, a 17 year-old Thrash Metal fan from Loughbrough who has been absolutely lacerated by the puberty stick, is about to play his first gig with his band, Manslaughter. The problem is, they’re complete rammel. Between their first painful attempts to stand musically upright and their debut gig, Chris takes the time to defend Metal and Youth, unleashes torrents of adolescent venom upon the Green movement, ‘old bastards’, vegetarians, ‘Chart Music’, organised religion, teachers, and Neighbours, conducts a relationship with his girlfriend in excruciating silence, gets hassled by Mr Taggart and His Amazing Shirt, and goes fishing.”
- Al Needham, Leftlion

‘In Bed with Chris Needham’, IKON Eastside, 8.30pm, tickets from HERE

For up to date news and to contribute to the archive go to http://www.homeofmetal.com/

Home of Metal is collaborating with Flatpack Festival to bring a very special screening to this year’s edition of the prestigious film festival. On Saturday 26th March, ‘In Bed with Chris Needham’ will be screened at IKON Eastside, followed by a Q&A with Chris Needham himself.

‘In Bed with Chris Needham’ follows a 17 year old thrash fan as he about to embark on his band’s debut gig. Full of quotable lines, its a fantastic insight into teenage fan-dom and is, of course, a testament to the power of Heavy Metal. Unscreened for two decades, this will be a very special event.

20:30 – 23:00 Sat 26th March 2011
Screening : £6.50 Tickets from HERE

In 2009, Home of Metal brought the Led Zeppelin classic ‘Song Remains the Same’ to Flatpack Festival – if you missed it (or just really need to see it again) we’ll be showing it earlier that day at our Home of Metal Open Day at The Public, West Brom. So come along and make a day if it!

Flatpack Festival 2011 programme is now online!